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We take a look at the brand new Venom Power Pack and Stand for Nintendo Switch.

Venom was kind enough to send over a new accessory for use with the Nintendo Switch. I've spent the last week putting the Venom Power Pack and Stand to good use to find out if it's worth your time and hard-earned cash.

Packaging & Content

The Venom Power Pack and Stand will retail at £29.99 when it releases on March 28th 2018. Included in the package is the following:

Power Pack & Stand

USB-C Cable (No AC adapter)

User manual card

Spec & Features

From Venom's Site:

High capacity 10,000 mAh rechargeable power pack

Built-in kickstand

Locks console securely into place

Easy access to all console buttons

LED power indicators

Additional USB charging port

Charging cable included

Also charges via a Nintendo Switch AC adapter

From me:

Approx weight - 305g

Approx thickness - 3cm (1.2")

Approx charge time for Power Pack - 4 hours

Approx time to charge a 0% Switch to 100% - 3 - 3.5hrs (when not playing the device)

Performance

Upon opening the package, the first thing I noticed about the Venom Power Pack and Stand is the weight of the unit itself. At approximately 305g, it is only 93g lighter than a Switch unit with both joycons connected. Not very heavy in itself, but when in use, attached to a Switch, it nearly doubles the weight of the overall system. Your 398g Switch now weighs 703g when using the Power Pack.

To attach the Power Pack to the Switch, there are 2 slide lock buttons on the rear edges of the device, that when unlocked, allow the top lip of the Pack to extend. This makes it easy to slot the Switch unit into the stand, before closing the lip and locking the buttons. The Power Pack fits very snugly when locked into place, and the extra thickness it lends to the Switch is very welcome if you happen to have shovel hands like myself. At approximately 3cm (1.2") in thickness, the Power Pack also doubles the standard thickness of the Switch.

Powering the unit on is a simple button press, with 2 presses being required to turn it off. The power button is located on the left side of the unit and has a 4 bar LED light indicator to show how much charge is left in the battery. One thing I noticed right away, is that the battery power indicator doesn't work if you use an official Switch charger with it, meaning you have no idea if the device has finished charging, or how much it has filled up whilst on charge. To make use of the indicator when the Power Pack is on charge, I had to instead use the included USB-C cable with my phone charger, only then did the 4 bar LED power indicator lights work. The Power Pack WILL charge up with an official Switch charger, you just won't know when it's full and ready to use again.

I played my Switch until it auto turned itself off at 0%, then I inserted it into the Power Pack and Stand and turned on the battery. It took just over 3 hours to fully charge my Switch to 100%, at which point I decided to finally start the Breath of The WIld DLC I bought last year. I carried on playing for another 3.5 hours at full brightness and max volume until my Switch hit 0% again, then I turned on the battery pack again to see how much juice was left after the initial 100% charge. It made it to 60% before the Power Pack was completely dry. I tried this test twice more and got pretty much the exact same result. So a fully charged Venom Power Pack can add 160% charge to a power-dead Switch.

When using the Power Pack and actually playing the Switch at the same time as it's charging, the charge will keep increasing until it hits 100%, and then it will stay like that until the Power Pack's battery is fully drained. This means the standard 3.5-4 hour playtime of the Switch is now extended to 10+ hours, more than doubling the available power available to the user. Obviously, this time will vary depending on system settings and what games are being played, but it's a great extension to the Switch's default battery life. There is also a USB charge port, a great feature that allows you to charge your phone, or maybe a Pro Controller at the same time.

Last but not least, the Venom Power Pack and Stand has not 1, but 2 sturdy built-in kickstands - replacing the abysmal default kickstand that comes flimsily attached to every retail Switch.

Thoughts

Cheaper, more powerful USB-C power banks are of course already available to buy, but none of them are built specifically for the Switch in this way. The big attraction of Venom's Power Pack and Stand is the ergonomic design, how it locks onto the Switch unit, and how it replaces the terrible Switch kickstand with 2 more superior, sturdier stands. Using this battery you can expect to get at least another charge and a half out of your Switch, making it an essential purchase for the hardcore gamer.

Pros+
Strong build quality+
Extra USB port can be used to charge other devices+
Dual kickstands+
Adds extra grip if you have large hands

Cons-
Almost doubles the weight of the Switch-
LED charge indicator doesn't work when using an official Switch USB-C AC adapter

8.5

out of 10

Overall
Venom's Power Pack and Stand is an essential purchase if you do a lot of gaming on the go, or if you prefer to play in handheld mode over docked. It can add an additional 6-7 hours to a standard gaming session and can also be used to charge other devices. It's a fantastic piece of kit that I didn't know I needed until I tried it.

The design of this is really awesome. I already have a portable charger, but damn this is still tempting considering it'll work with your other devices too and my Switch goes pretty much everywhere with me anyway. Wonder what the price will be in USD.

Guess the only advantage to the Venom design is the solid kickstand/solid construction, because the above looks lighter for sure. I think the photo angle itself is slightly tilted (note the angle of the top of the cup).

Seems great for playing with a Pro Controller by using the stands, is it feasible to play by carrying the switch itself tho? Is it too heavy that it could hurt your hands? Could be a good workout haha.

Seems great for playing with a Pro Controller by using the stands, is it feasible to play by carrying the switch itself tho? Is it too heavy that it could hurt your hands? Could be a good workout haha.

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It's fine to play handheld, I actually like the added weight. Most times your forearms take the majority of the weight anyway. Maybe after a long session it might become uncomfortable, but personally I've had no issues.
It makes the whole Switch feel sturdier and safer, which is also great.
My only 1 real gripe is my Switch won't fit in its fancy case now if the battery is attatched lol
Also the stand isn't wonky at all, that's a bad pic I guess

Why didn't they add grips for your hands? Seems like a missed opportunity in my opinion. This has potential to make the Switch a lot more comfortable to use thanks to the added bulk, but instead it's just giving you a smaller area to grip onto. Not sure where the "ergonomic" claim comes from, because this looks like anything but.

Why didn't they add grips for your hands? Seems like a missed opportunity in my opinion. This has potential to make the Switch a lot more comfortable to use thanks to the added bulk, but instead it's just giving you a smaller area to grip onto. Not sure where the "ergonomic" claim comes from, because this looks like anything but.

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Grips would be nice but your fingers sit right across the stands so the design would need to be completely changed.
RE ergonomic, I found the unit to be both comfortable and efficient.

Hmm, the heft of the Switch as it stands does start to make my hands get tired after some time, I have to imagine that the extra weight of something like this would only amplify that effect and how quickly it would set in.

I meant on the JoyCon parts. You don't grip the JoyCons themselves? Seems like it would be uncomfortable to hold it the way you're saying, with the hard edges of the powerbank.

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Yes I grip the joycons but I have rubber grips on them already so the extra width I'm holding makes my fingers rest on the back of the battery, not on any "hard edge".
Maybe this can help better explain - like I said, my hands are huge so I had no issues with the weight or size of the grip, or the positioning of my hands while using it:

I'm missing one thing in this review and that is temperature. Battery packs tend to get hot and the switch has some heating issues wich nobody can deny. So i'm wondering how this battery pack behaves temperature wise with the temperature of the switch on top of it

I'm missing one thing in this review and that is temperature. Battery packs tend to get hot and the switch has some heating issues wich nobody can deny. So i'm wondering how this battery pack behaves temperature wise with the temperature of the switch on top of it

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It does get warm a bit on the back but not hot. It's well ventilated where it should be too.

One thing that might be worth mentioning is that the case lacks a cutout for the headphone port, meaning that you won’t be able to use external audio devices while charging.
Edit: Just noticed that one of the comments above already mention this. Oops!

@T-hug anjd
"- LED charge indicator doesn't work when using an official Switch USB-C AC adapter"
does this mean that there is a small chance (like almost all 3rd-party chargers/docks) have a chance to brick.

You can always email them asking if they included that in their charge port just to be sure. The thing is if it ain't included and the charger breaks down and pushes 2 much through because of that, well your device is dead seeing Nintendo also didn't put it in while they should have. It costs them literally almost to nothing to include that but for saving money they often don't do that and Nintendo also haven't included that protection in the USB C port so you always have to make sure your charger or usb cable does. To be sure you best email them

I recently got two of these for my kids, since people noted that there is no hole for the head phone jack, looks like they have resolved this with a new revision. I got these before xmas and it has a hole for the head phone jack. I just noticed the charging is slow if the Switch is in use or in sleep mode, will have to do more testing in completely off to see if it's faster.

UPDATE:
I did a few tests and it looks like the Switch charges quicker when the device is Turned Off, when charging in Sleep mode and while playing, the Switch charges slowly.